The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
To ensure the safety of an individual performing a chest press on bench press equipment, often a second individual (herein referred to as a ‘spotter’) will stand toward an end of the bench and ensure that the individual performing the exercise does not drop the barbell and/or weights, which could result in harm to the individual and/or the spotter. Additionally, the spotter may help to lift the barbell and/or weights if the individual begins to struggle, to help align the barbell with the bar rack mechanism, to steady the barbell over the individual at the beginning of exercise or during the exercise, or some combination thereof.
Legacy bench press equipment often includes structure and/or supports that extend between the bench and bar rack structure. The structure and/or supports may present tripping hazards and/or points of interference with the standing position of the spotter, causing the spotter to stand adjacent to the end of the bench to avoid the structure and/or supports. Standing adjacent to the end of the bench causes the spotter to lean over when helping to lift the barbell and/or weights, which may heighten the risk of injury to the spotter, including back injuries that could result from leaning over while lifting heavy weights.
Some embodiments of legacy bench press equipment may attempt to limit the structure and/or supports that extend between the bench and the bar rack structure, thereby attempting to limit the tripping hazards and/or points of interference presented by the structure and/or supports. Limiting the structure and/or supports that extend between the bench and the bar rack structure often cause the bar rack structure to be less sturdy than legacy bench press equipment with greater structure and/or supports that extend between the bench and the bar rack structure. In these embodiments with limited structure and/or supports, the bar rack structure may provide inadequate support for heavy weights and/or may wear over time causing the bar rack structure to fail and present a risk of the barbell and/or weights falling from the bar rack mechanism.